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I a vertical gastric sleeve in 2006. I weighed about 400 at the time and got down to 250, then plateaud at 285 for 10 years. I was happy with that. In the last 10 years, I've gained it all back and am at 400 lbs again. I am close to my pre-op visit to discuss the revision. The weight loss nurse I am working with said this time, my weight loss might not be as significant. I said I was shooting for 300 lbs, and she said that was doable. I'd be happy with that. What I want to know is what type of revisions you've had, and how your experience is different after a revision than with your first surgery. Also, I am concerned if I have the bypass or the DS about dumping. I didn't have that with the first surgery. I could manage if it was occasional and I could control it by the types of foods I eat, but I have heard it can become a constant, lifelong problem.

hank you both so much — I honestly do know the rules and I really am trying to trust the process. But I just have this lingering question I need to ask — maybe for peace of mind more than anything. If I’m doing everything I can — eating clean, prioritizing protein, tracking, moving my body, staying consistent — will I definitely reach my goal weight eventually? And also… is regain really that easy? I hear people talk about it a lot and it scares me. Is it actually hard to regain weight after bypass if you stay mindful, or is it something that creeps up even if you're doing your best? I know everyone's different, but I'd love to hear some honest thoughts from those who’ve lived through it.

Thank you again — this was packed with great insight and exactly what I needed to hear. I feel better knowing that my current protein intake (100–115g) is actually within the clinical guidelines. I’ll definitely bring up that 1.2g/kg recommendation with my nutritionist on the 20th and get their take as well — I want to be sure I’m not compromising my health by lowering it too much. And yes — I completely agree about focusing on fat loss over just scale weight. I love how I’m looking now, and my goal is to tighten, tone, and keep my muscle rather than just see a lower number. I’m not aiming to bulk or build new muscle right now — just to hold on to what I have and keep my body strong through strength training. Also, your point about essential fats and nutrient-rich carbs like fruits/veggies really helped. I do eat clean and home-cooked, so I’ll make sure I’m not over-restricting in the wrong areas. This has honestly helped me refocus — I’m grateful 🙏

Usually people experience their first stall at around the 3 week mark +/- and they can last 1-3 weeks. However this isn’t a hard and fast rule. There are some who experience small stalls of only a few days. I was one who wouldn’t see any loss on the scales for only a handful of days and then would drop again. I noticed this simply because I weighed myself daily and recorded my loss. As you weigh once a week you may have missed a brief plateau at around that three week mark and you are having a larger more average length stall now. Your friends may not have noticed stalls if they weighed once a week or less frequently. The only thing you can rely on is regardless of how often you stall or how long there last they will break. Just stick to your plan & everything will be fine when your body is ready to start losing again. Is there a reason you are only eating one real meal a day and your other meals are shakes? At almost three months post surgery most of your nutrients should be coming from real food not shakes. A shake should only be to supplement your protein intake or as an occasional convenient meal alternative (work commitments, travel, etc.). I also wonder if that could impact your weight loss and the length of your plateau. Personally I never had another shake after the first 2 week liquid stage & was eating real food meals from week 3 post surgery. By around week 8 I was eating all meats (fish, beef, chicken, pork, lamb) & 1 or 2 vegetables for lunch and dinner and eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. This is when you should be introducing better food choices and eating habits for the long term. This would be worth a conversation with your dietician & surgeon.

I'm just checking in with all my August 2023 fellow surgery patients! I hope everyone is doing well and has been genuinely happy at 19+ months PO! I finally conceded that I'm probably not going to get to my "goal" since I've been stuck here for months now. I also like to think that if I were to have skin removal on all the places I need it (stomach, arms legs and butt) it would take me to goal. This puts me at where I was weight wise most of my adult life before I started gaining weight ten years ago. So, I'm happy with the wls results physically health wise, lol just not looks wise. I knew what to expect...but its still difficult to actually seeing it. Plus all the new aches and pains from past stress on the body and shifting lose joints is .... Great 😉 Again, I hope everyone is doing well and has adjusted to their new healthy life!

Again, If what you're doing is working, then I don't see anything that needs changing. If you're in the range of 100-115 grams per day, then you're already eating what I'd call protein forward diet and about where I'd typically recommend for most people. Keep in mind what I mentioned, calories are king. You only lose weight when you eat fewer calories than you burn. Thus if you did want to add more protein, you'd have to do so at the expense of other nutrients. When eating as few calories as you are right now, dropping any more on carbs & fat could have negative effects on health. It's important to get sufficient essential fatty acids since your body can't make these (that's why there called "essential". Technically you can live without carbs since your body can manufacture glycogen from fats and protein, but the problem is that if you reduce these even further, you're going to also have to reduce your intake of fruits and veggies and these convey a lot of other benefits to you nutritionally. Here's what I'd ask your nutritionist about. The most up to date clinical practice guidelines from AACE/TOS/ASMBS/OMA/ASA say to focus on protein intake of 1.2g/kg of bodyweight. https://www.soard.org/article/S1550-7289(08)00163-9/fulltext I recognize that you are not from the USA, but I dare say these organizations have a significant level of money and experience going into these recommendations since obesity is rampant in the USA. For what it's worth, some recent data I saw showed that the USA does far more bariatric surgeries than any other country. In fact, it was roughly the same number of bariatric surgeries as the next 10 countries combined. An impressive but sad statistic. Protein is highly satiating compared to carbs & fats, plus protein takes longer to digest, meaning you'll be full longer. Being full longer equals less cravings and better dietary compliance. Protein has a small but meaningful effect on overall energy balance because on average, for every 100 calories of protein you eat, you burn about 20 calories just to digest it. This is way more than carbs or fats which range from 0 to 3 for fats and 5 or 10 for carbs depending of fiber content. This means the more protein you eat, the better your overall energy balance compared to eating the exact same calorie amount of other foods. Granted, this isn't a lot, but it all adds up. Higher levels of dietary protein help you preserve more muscle mass as you lose weight. (It helps prevent muscle catabolism which is a real risk when eating a very low calorie diet.) Because muscle is more metabolically active than fat, the more muscle mass you preserve as you lose weight, the more calories you'll burn, even at rest. Studies suggest anything above about 1.2g/kg (95% CI), is sufficient for most people to stave off catabolism, which is probably where the dietary guidelines linked above came from. You mentioned something about body recomposition, so I want to touch on that briefly. I LOVE the idea, but you need to understand it's extremely hard (bordering on impossible), to add muscle mass while on a very low calorie diet like you're eating right now. For most people, you actually need to be eating a significant surplus to add muscle mass, so I honestly wouldn't even try until you get closer to your goal weight. If you do decide to add mass, then yes, higher protein amounts than what you're eating now would be recommended (Roughly 2g - 2.5g per kg of bodyweight). This also would require a dedicated hypertrophy training plan though, and that's a bit out of scope for our discussion here. Best of luck.

Thank you so much for this detailed reply — I truly appreciate the time and care you put into it. It really helped ease some of the anxiety I’ve been carrying. You’re right, I’m losing around 1kg a month and logically I know that’s great… but emotionally I keep feeling like I should be doing more. So reading that I’m exactly where I should be was super reassuring. I also loved what you said about exercise — I know it’s not the biggest driver of weight loss, but for me, it plays a huge role in how I feel. I actually want to focus more on losing fat and toning up now, not just dropping scale weight. I’m starting to realize that body composition matters more than the number. As for protein, yeah — I was surprised when my dietitian suggested lowering it to 65g. I’ve been aiming for 100–115g all along. I have another appointment on the 20th, so I’ll definitely bring this up again and see what’s behind that recommendation. Right now, I’m not using apps like MyFitnessPal. I track my food using ChatGPT (kind of like a food journal), and I weigh things in grams to stay accurate. But I’m a bit unsure how to move forward — like, should I only track protein and not worry too much about calories? Or try to follow macros more closely? I do eat clean, mostly home-cooked meals, but I also have occasional snacks and off-plan moments (nothing crazy, just not perfect). I know I need to tighten things up again, especially with workouts — I’ve been slacking a bit lately. Again, thank you for the perspective and advice. It means a lot to hear this from someone who's been through it herself. Would love to know your thoughts on whether focusing on protein alone is enough, or if I should be tracking more closely.

Hello everyone, just wanted to post an update about me. I had my Gastric bypass surgery August 16, 2023. My heaviest weight was 260 lbs, documented weight starting the bariatric program was 249lbs and weigh in on day of surgery was 235.6 lbs. I managed to drop down to 176lbs and I stopped losing between the 6-9 month mark fluctuating between 183-186 lbs and now I did a weigh in at 189lbs. I noticed now I am experiencing more digestive issues like everything I eat is causing bloating, indigestion, heart burn, hyperglycemia episodes and feeling lost of coordination some days. I don't have medical insurance to get a thorough check up from surgeon but the only thing I can account for is me not taking my vitamins, not being as active, still snacking and mentally always ready to eat even when I don't want to because I will feel stomach cramps or light headed, How are you all during your journey?

I realised my response above was a bit lacking on practical recommendations. Let me try to summarize what I'd suggest: Since you're right where I'd want you to be in terms of weight loss per month, don't change anything at this point. Only consider changing if you find the weight loss completely stops for 2 months or more. If weight loss does stop for at least 2 months, I'd actually recommend UPPING calories by 250-300 calories a day. I know that sounds counter-intuitive, especially considering that a negative energy balance is the only way to lose weight, but let me explain. Remember when I said above that one of the main jobs of our metabolic regulation system is to keep us from dying? No matter what we do, our metabolism slows when we diet. The rationale behind upping calories (by a small amount), is that we want to convince that system that the "bad times" have passed, and it's okay to ratchet up metabolic processes again. I'd recommend eating this increased calorie amount for at least a month, but two months would be better. Somewhat surprisingly, most people won't gain weight if they do this because their metabolism will increase to compensate. After that diet break, only then do we drop calories for a month or two in order to drop some more weight. You can keep up this intermittent dieting (not to be confused with intermittent fasting), until you get to your goal weight. I know this sounds like a slow process, but I promise, in the long run it's actually faster than if you just tried to keep cutting calories to get to your goal. Please keep exercising for your health, but also so that once you do get to your goal, you'll have a much easier time maintaining the loss. I would strongly recommend a minimum of 3 days per week of aerobic exercise and 2 days per week of strength training. This will set you up really well to maintain weight, as well as for excellent health as you get older. Don't be afraid to seek out a good mental health counselor. None of us got as big as we were by having a healthy relationship with food. The vast majority of people that fail to lose weight or that regain lots of weight after bariatric surgery do so because they fall back into old poor eating habits.

1kg a month is perfect right now. Instead of thinking in terms of a specific number you should be losing, think in terms of a percentage of your overall weight. This has an advantage in that the actual number to shoot for drops as your weight goes down. The ideal amount for most people would be one to two percent per month (and certainly no more than three percent). This is right where you're at. Believe it or not, slower is actually better here. The faster your weight loss, the more likely you are to be causing your body to decide you're starving to death. When this happens, your body starts doing things that slow down your metabolism to try to keep you from dying. Of course we know intellectually that we're not actually dying, but your body's metabolic regulation system doesn't know that. It's an amazing system, but it was designed before we had almost instant access to unlimited amounts of highly palatable foods. Thanks for clarifying on the new goal. 65kg sounds like a good goal for now and there's nothing wrong with adjusting up or down even more as you get closer to that. Regarding diet, calories and macros, I'd obviously tell you to defer to your dietitian, though I will say I'm very surprised by the recommendation to lower your protein. When dieting, there are literally hundreds of studies that show the advantages of eating more protein. You should know that overall, I personally am not a huge fan of tracking calories. I know that some people here seem to do so effectively, but for me it just does not work. As I mentioned, most of us aren't very good at actually tracking calorie intake accurately. Even more important to me, none of us have any way at all to know how many calories we are actually burning in a day so tracking intake is only showing you one side of the energy balance equation. Plus, energy expenditure can be highly variable day to day, so even if you did somehow know the exact amount you burned today, it's not going to be the same in one month or one year from now. With all that said, if tracking is working for you, don't change it. Do keep in mind that you may have to reduce calories as you continue to lose since the biggest contributor to metabolism day-to-day is body size. Regarding exercise, I'm going to recommend you stop thinking of exercise as part of your weight loss goal. It simply doesn't work. I don't say this lightly, nor to discourage you, simply to state fact. We have a huge amount of evidence now to show that our bodies tend to slow down in other ways in response to exercise. This is something called the constrained energy model. On a practical level, exercise is still critically important for your overall health. In addition, we do have a lot of data that shows people that have lost a lot of weight are better able to maintain the loss if they exercise on average 1 hour or more per day. In short, do it because you'll feel better, because you'll live longer, AND because once you reach goal, you'll have a much easier time keeping the weight off. I think I can speak for most of us here on this board that we have experienced the exact mental anguish you're feeling. It's normal to worry and let doubt creep in, so know that you are not alone, Mental health is not my area of expertise, so my advice will always be please seek help from a mental health professional if you think you need it.

Hi! Thank you for the detailed questions — I appreciate the time you took to break things down. Here's a full update from my side: 1. Weight Loss Progress: I’m currently losing around 1 kg per month. I know that’s on the slower end post-bypass, but I’m trying to be patient with the process. 2. Goal Weight: My initial goal was 75 kg, and I’ve now revised it to 65 kg. I haven’t updated my profile yet, but that’s the target I’m working toward. 3. Typical Daily Intake: I eat clean, home-cooked food, and I really focus on quality over quantity. Breakfast: 2 eggs and a small side like labneh or some veggies Snack: ½ scoop of whey protein or something light Lunch: Chicken breast or thigh (120–150g) with cooked dhal or sautéed vegetables Dinner: A high-protein meal like steak, paneer, or fish with non-starchy veg I do snack or “cheat” here and there — I’m no angel — but I genuinely try to make good choices most of the time. 4. Caloric and Macro Goals: I was aiming for 115g protein daily, but just yesterday my dietitian told me to reduce that to 65g. I’m adjusting and seeing how my body responds. I try to stay between 1000–1200 kcal, but again, I focus more on food quality than strict numbers. 5. How I Track: I track everything using ChatGPT, not traditional apps like MyFitnessPal. I log my food manually, with weights in grams, and I try to stay mindful and consistent. 6. Activity Level: My workouts have reduced lately. I try to weight train twice a week, and I walk or move throughout the day, but I’ll admit I’ve been slacking a bit. I’m trying to get back on track. 7. Mental State (the honest part): Physically, I look fantastic. But mentally, I feel like I’m failing. I have really bad anxiety that I’m doing something wrong — that I should’ve reached my goal already — and that maybe I’m overeating without realizing it. This fear honestly clouds my progress. I know I’m not alone in this, and I’m trying to work through it. Any advice, especially from others who’ve had slow progress or battled this anxiety, would mean a lot.

Sometimes we are afraid of success. Sometimes we don’t think we deserve it. Do you have a pattern self sabotage? Hope you find someone with whom to work through these issues. They are important, apart from weight loss.

if you're sticking to your plan, then it's probably just the typical slowdown you experience as you get closer to a normal weight. I lost weight until month 20, but after the first year, it was S-L-O-W. Just a couple of pounds some months. So many times I'd think "this must be it", but then my loss would start up again. I'd look at the list above, too, though (Spartan's list) - he's listed some other potential reasons for it.

I'll do my best to help, but I'm going to have to start by asking some questions: When you say the weight is "barely coming off", can you be more specific? How much in the last week, two weeks, last month? Can you clarify what your goal weight really is? In your profile, you're showing that you're currently at 78kg and your goal is 75kg. That's only about 6-7 pounds, not the 33-44 you listed. I'm thinking you probably have a new goal and have not updated your profile, but it's important to understand what you really are trying to do. When you say you are "eating pretty well", can you give some examples of what a typical day looks like? What is your daily caloric goal? What about protein, fat and carbs? How are you determining your what you caloric and macronutrient intake should be? How are you tracking your intake? Do you weigh everything in grams before it goes into your mouth? Let me explain why I'm asking these questions. Typically when people are struggling with weight loss, we see a few common issues: Unrealistic expectations. Especially if weight loss early on after surgery was easy, people tend to think it will continue that way until they reach goal weight. Unfortunately, that's not how this works. The heavier we are, the more we'll lose at first. The closer we get to goal, the harder it becomes. It can take months just to lose a few pounds if you are already pretty lean. You also have to really have your nutrition dialed in at that point.. I won't get too deep into the physiology here, but there are multiple reasons for this and it's 100% normal for this to happen. My point is that you may be right where you need to be. It's hard to know just that just based on what you posted above. Eating more than you think. Study after study shows that almost everyone thinks they eat less than they really do, even those that log their food using calorie tracking apps. It's sometimes simple things like those little tastes while preparing a meal, or that handful of nuts they forgot to log. Others, they just guess at calories because accurate tracking is really hard. Burning less than you think. Most people have absolutely no idea how many calories they actually burn in a day. We often use estimates based on height and weight, but these can be off by may hundreds of calories depending on age, lifestyle, percent body fat, etc. Further, your calorie burn isn't the same all the time. It can vary by hundreds of calories per day even before you consider exercise. Speaking of exercise, we drastically overestimate the impact of exercise calories. For the vast majority of people, the calories they burn in a day don't actually change all that much due to exercise. Blaming things outside your control. It's natural for people look for causes for problems. If we take ownership of the problem, we can then take steps to correct it. It's when we place the blame on something we perceive to be outside our control that we can run into serious problems. Let me give you an example here. We can't escape simple physics. If you burn more calories in a day than you consume, you'll lose weight. Eat more than you burn and you gain weight. If I take responsibility for this, then it means I need to eat less or burn more to lose weight. I realize that's easier said than done, but without first taking responsibility for the problem, I'd have no hope of fixing the issue. If on the other hand, I were to say "I have a slow metabolism", I'd essentially be saying this issue is outside my control, even though the solution is the same as before: eat less than you burn. Thinking a particular diet/macronutrient is more important than calories. I noticed you hinted at that in your post. Calories are king here. Specific diets that emphasize one or more macronutrients can help, but they never trump calories. I can go into more detail later, but this post is already getting overly long so I think I'll stop here. Please provide some additional detail and I may be able to provide better guidance.

I did the Fast Metabolism Diet (Haylie Pomroy) to reach my goal weight. I wasn’t able to eat the amount of foods it requires but eating them in the phases was enough & I dropped the last stubborn 15 pounds!

Thank you for the support! Once I put my mind back in track it’s actually felt really good to refocus and put myself 1st. I've also been much more aware of medications and side effects that affect weight and advocating to not use them. I should have listened to my guy originally, I would have saved myself a lot of pain.

Hi all, I am almost 8 months post op bypass. I'm down 68 lbs (31 kg) I feel and look fantastic and I'm quite happy but I still need to lose 33-44 lbs and well it's barely coming off these past months. Now my question is I'm eating pretty well and counting calories and protien content. I'm focused on calories mostly but I think that's where the problem is. I should focus on my protien only which means I should eat 115g of protien daily which might mean more calories and it scares me.. I m active and go to the gym too (not as gym rat but not lazy) so what am I doing wrong? Do I need to up my protein? Also how much of the food is actually absorbed? Does bypass really mean ill def lose and maintain the weight? I need reassurance. Help me understand what to do now and if I'm safe

It sounds like a very stressesfull time and the only way we know or remember how to make ourselves feel better is food! It's just so comforting and I'm so sorry you're going through it but I can feel the strength through your words and u will fight this .. I think it's smart that u want support to maintain ur weight and make u eat better it will help ur health too so yes let ur doc speak to the bari team to support the idea if it won't harm you. Health is health weather losing the extra weight or being cancer free im rooting for you

Incredibly honest post. You know that your current approach won't (can't) help you reach your weight loss goal and stay there. It's so good that you're stepping back and evaluating that before your prime period for weight loss flashes past (which it really really does - mine is already way back in the rear view mirror, LOL). I live in Ireland where access to proper bariatric therapists is limited, as i think it probably also is in the UK. But I echo the advice above to find one and work on what's going on in your head so you can make the most of what you've changed in your body. I really hope that you can get back on track. We are all here to help - all human and have all made mistakes as we went along. Lots of us have hit little blips when we find we *can* do things that we shouldn't. What matters is that we stop and call those out and get back on the horse. Keep posting and let us know how you're doing.

I am going to ask you a question that I also ask myself when I have periods of consuming things I know I should not have. How did it get in your house? It's one thing to be in a place where temptation strikes. Maybe you go to a wedding and you are handed a glass of champagne. Maybe you go to your friend's birthday party and you take a piece of cake because everyone else has one. Okay, fine. This is not likely to be an ongoing issue unless your social calendar is booked constantly (in which case you need a plan). (But also, not fine because you are at 8 weeks out and your stomach is like a delicate baby that you are feeding trash. More like fine a year from now.) But if you are on day 6 of drinking wine while watching TV at night, all snug on your sofa... why is there wine in your house? Did you buy it? Did someone else bring it in? Is it left over from something? The easiest way not to drink alcohol casually is to have no alcohol in the house. The easiest way not to eat chips, or chocolate, or ice cream is... to not have it around. Get rid of it. I know a lot of us have issues with "wasting" food or drink. What I've come to realize only slowly is that there is no difference between me eating junk I don't need that is not good for me and putting it down the garbage disposal. Except in the second scenario, I don't gain weight. After Easter, I bought a big bag of jelly beans on clearance. They weren't very good. Even so, I kept eating them. I put them in the cupboard and kept getting a handful every time I walked past. And then I would eat a few and say these are really not very good. And then I would KEEP EATING THEM! Finally, after I did this several times, I stopped and asked myself what I was doing. Why was I eating these? Why did I buy them? And my only answer was because I was bored, and a little stressed, and they were there. Also, I like jelly beans. Only I didn't like them. So, I threw them away. An almost full bag, in the garbage. I know! The waste! But I didn't need them, I didn't like them, and they were making me crave all sorts of other sweets. I just kept thinking about the fact they were there. It made me want them. When they were gone, I could no longer eat them, and I didn't care enough to go buy more. For the first year, I did most of my grocery shopping through curbside pick up. I planned what to buy based on a menu plan, and that's all I got. No impulse buys. No clearance bins. No getting a dozen bags of something bad for me because it was on sale. I gave away all my alcohol or poured it down the drain. I threw away the junk food and organized my pantry so I could find things at a glance. I made a list of healthy things that were easy to eat or take along because I know I will always eat what's easy and not what's difficult. I meal prep for the week so that I don't have to cook and prep every single day and I have no excuse to eat out. I'll also be honest that the hardest times for me were before surgery when I was trying to follow a nutrition plan but had a lot of hunger and cravings, and from around 9 months out when weight loss had slowed and my appetite was becoming more noticeable and my weight loss naturally slowed. The fact that you're feeling like this at 8 weeks is concerning because this is the time when your ability to stay motivated should be highest (constant reinforcement when you step on the scale and lose weight almost every day), and your ability to eat is the least. Don't let this drag on without addressing it. Talk to your team. Because it's only going to get harder. Maybe you're bored. Or scared of change. Or you don't believe the surgery will work and you're turning it into a self fulfilling prophecy because that's easier emotionally than trying and failing. Or you just can't help yourself when the food or alcohol is in the house because you're addicted. Whatever it is, the best day to fix it is today. And ask your family and friends for help. Be accountable to others and to yourself. Because you can fix this, but if you don't, you won't reach your goal.

Me either. Why go through all that's needed to get the surgery then stop doing what's needed to achieve the goal? Determine your goal and get some counseling to change your mindset. Addictive personalities tend to substitute the food for something else. Alcohol, etc. I had to chuckle at how many times @The Greater Fool called the surgery, the MAGIC SURGERY. lol. It was kind of magic for me TBH. It fixed whatever was causing all of my weight loss efforts to fail. I exercised and dieted for years with limited results. So, it was extremely satisfying when it all finally actually worked, and I got healthy. I don't kill myself with dieting anymore or with extreme exercise pre-op. I walk 2 miles a day and try to stay moving and do some weights. I eat normally now (2 years out) but stay within the guidelines of the plan and treat myself on occasion with a drink or a piece of chocolate. I do know some people who believe the shot (GLP-1) are magic too. LOL They eat whatever they want without moving and then wonder why it's not working. People can out eat the drugs one DR told me while discussing my RNY. I have never used them but know it has helped others in addition to their WLS. Bottom line, neither WLS nor the drugs will work all on their own. But it sure helps to get you there. Do what you need to do now to become healthy again. Which in the end is really the most important thing. The honeymoon doesn't last foreva..... GL @Claire D I wish you the best!!!

A couple things related to my weight gain - when I gained weight it was due to eating fast food/junk food during nursing school and then the pandemic (people sending goodies to hospitals) and the stress of the job. I also had two traumatizing relationships in that mix - what was 30lbs would have been 60lbs pre-wls When I was gaining weight, I wasn't stepping on the scale. So now, I do this often to keep me accountable. You are going to regain some, your stomach is tiny and then the swelling goes down and you can eat more (and you should)! I feel like wls is the only way I could have kept this off. The best thing is that the food noise is gone! I would redo the surgery once a year, every year, if I had to. That's how important is been to me.

One issue many post-ops have is high expectations pre-op. We think with the magic surgery we will be able to follow the draconian diet plan, or even just the strict diet plan, we are expected to keep that we've never been able to keep before. We think the magic surgery will make us keep the exercise plan that we've never been able to keep before. In short, the magic surgery will make us enjoy doing the things we hate doing and have never followed through on before. Then we run smack into the wall of reality and think less of ourselves because it seems we are sabotaging ourselves. My personal philosophy for post-op life was only to do things I felt I could follow through on. When I was considering surgery I evaluated the eating plans to ensure I could follow through and that it wouldn't feel like torture or even a hardship. I looked at exersise that I didn't dispise. If I didn't think I could/would sustain it I wouldn't commit to it. During this 'honeymood period' you will lose weight almost no matter what you do. Now, this reward of weight loss is being associated with bad eating habits and bad drinking habits. As @catwoman7 says, now is the time to build good habits that get associated with weight loss rewards. Later, when the going get's tough it will be the good habits you associate with weight loss which will keep you going. We also make the big mistake thinking that the magic surgery will fix our heads when, in fact, it often makes what's going on in there worse. We often make the mistake of thinking we can do these big changes on our own. This is why support is so important. Family support, if it's truly available is helpful. Friends can be another help, again if it's truly available. Professional support can be invaluable. Therapists can have vast experience with the coping issues you may not even know you are facing. They can provide you with new insights and new coping mechanisms to replace those the surgery took away. Good luck, Tek

Hi - if you aren't able to get back on track alone, I'd seek out the help of a therapist. This is your big chance of losing a ton of weight, so you don't want to blow it. It'll never be this easy again! (not saying it's easy, but way easier than it has been or will be once you're past the so-called "honeymoon stage"). You need to take full advantage of that, so do whatever you need to do to get back on track!

Hi lovelies, I hope you’re all doing well? You were all so supportive with the question I asked a few weeks ago that I thought I would come here and see if you have any advice for me now! As of tomorrow I am eight weeks out from the gastric bypass procedure. I have lost quite a bit of weight (2 stone) which I’m absolutely delighted about (and people are starting to notice which has been a really good feeling). However, I must have THE most stubborn self sabotaging streak because I have started to drink alcohol again (and not just on special occasions) as well as not following the food rules and not exercising. I can’t understand why I’m being like this because my family are so happy that I’ve done this and have been so supportive, and my friends (even though they don’t know about the operation are really starting to notice) so WHY am I doing this to myself? I just wondered if you guys knew of a reason I may have hit the wall so early (I really do not want to fail) and especially if you have any advice, book recommendations apps or anything that I might be able to do to help me get back on track and find my way again. Really appreciated as always thank you xx